Re: Other JSF options

Kevin Brooks wrote:
Since the biggest chunk of the increased cost estimate is due to increased basic material costs and higher-than-pereviously-used inflation rates, then the cost of whatever wunderweapon you are proposing as an alternative to future JSF production will also similarly be affected....so your point would be?

This is due to acts of Congress rather than God.

http://www.janes.com/aerospace/military/news/jdi/jdi060228_1_n.shtml
Soaring titanium prices, the rising cost of producing the metal and a global shortage may hit the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme, the first time a global materials supply concern has impacted so significantly on the defence sector since the steel shortages after the Second World War.

Gosh, the world is running out of titanium. I suppose we'd best stop using it in housepaint, eyeglass frames and body piercings? ;-)

No, it's a price support program brought to us by the same clowns who are taxing brazilian ethanol out of the US market.

http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/TheExecutive/031606_titanium.html
In 1973, after rigorous debate, Congress adopted a key provision, called the specialty metals clause, that requires that the titanium and various steel and metal alloys defense contractors use be made in the United States.

Well, with such a rigorous program we can rest assured that all titanium alloy parts used on American military aircraft are of the highest quality. Right? Wrong.

http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,96097,00.html
The F-22A Raptor has been designed with a service life of 8,000 flying hours, but a faulty manufacturing process discovered four months ago may cause a key structural component in 90 of the new fighters to age prematurely, officials said Monday.
The "forward boom frames" in the 62-foot-long fighter are constructed of titanium, a lightweight but extremely strong metal, and are used to anchor the aircraft's wings to its fuselage, said Air Force spokesman Doug Karas. During routine testing in December, Karas said, officials discovered that the titanium components may have been "improperly" treated, creating the possibility that the metal would not last as long as it is supposed to.

D'oh!

-HJC
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Dentistry in Mexico
    ... a dental school, and about $20,000 at the high end private dentists.. ... the inside of much of it though...full of world class equipment. ... Most cost effective is to stay for a week at a time. ... that base metals contain nickel for which many people are allergic, ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Dentistry in Mexico
    ... a dental school, and about $20,000 at the high end private dentists.. ... the inside of much of it though...full of world class equipment. ... Most cost effective is to stay for a week at a time. ... that base metals contain nickel for which many people are allergic, ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Dentistry in Mexico
    ... a dental school, and about $20,000 at the high end private dentists.. ... the inside of much of it though...full of world class equipment. ... Most cost effective is to stay for a week at a time. ... that base metals contain nickel for which many people are allergic, ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Dentistry in Mexico
    ... a dental school, and about $20,000 at the high end private dentists.. ... the inside of much of it though...full of world class equipment. ... Most cost effective is to stay for a week at a time. ... that base metals contain nickel for which many people are allergic, ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: PM is wise, reduces cabinet posts
    ... structure bridges) in sarawak with concrete one. ... the bridges that taib's mahmud did cost 3 time the actual ... cost over run is cause by titanium as a turn key contractors ...
    (soc.culture.malaysia)